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How do I know what to do? Where do you find this information? Why do I act like a know it all?

These are questions I sometimes get asked at work that I don't have a definite answer to. (Except the last one though. I'm the humblest person. Ever.) So I took the time to think about it so I could have a better answer the next time I'm asked. And like the lazy dude that I am, lead them to this blog post for answers they be a-searchin' fer, no matter if you're a programmer or not. So I generalized it all for y'all. I'm probably just being Captain Obvious here but for the sake of having it laid out in a blog post, here it is.

Stock knowledge

A mind, once expanded by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Are you in the Philippines? Are you using our sucky mobile internet from our greedy telcos? Is it sucking even more right now? Maybe you should check your APN settings!

An Access Point Name (APN) is the name of a gateway between a GPRS, 3G or 4G mobile network and another computer network, frequently the public Internet. ~ Wikipedia

In a more understandable analogy, it's like the name of the wireless network you need to connect to. You need it to be correct to get an internet connection. If this analogy confuses you even more, don't bother understanding. Writing this post in a rush.

This guide is written as if the person who will read this does not have much experience with SSH and jailbreaking.

Problem?

One of the easiest ways to capture network traffic coming out of your device to the world wide internet is by setting up a proxy on your desktop and setting your device to use that proxy but that assumes the app will use the proxy. What if it uses its own proxy? What if it uses a socket connection? What if you are forced to connect to another network (say, the GoPro app needs you to connect to the ad hoc wireless network on the GoPro device)?

This approach will allow your device to connect to any network, and captures all types of network traffic including socket and HTTP/S with or without proxy. Drawback is the need for the iOS device to be jailbroken. Jailbreak it. Free yourself.

I'm planning to organize DSD sessions (Discover Scuba Diving) at most once a month and if you're here, that means you're interested and just have a couple of questions you want to ask. After taking 5 groups of buddies to DSD, here are the questions that I usually get.

Is it safe? Yes.

Like anything done in life (driving, travelling, drinking, etc), you remain safe if you stay within the safety standards. The 1st item in Top 10 Scuba Diving Myths explains how diving is not that dangerous. It's a great article, by the way. You are more likely to be in an accident on your way to the dive spot than during the actual dive. Crazy, right?